Peyton Watson, the No. 30 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, has agreed to a 4-year, $88 million contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers after a three-team trade, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Max Strus went from Cleveland to the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Denver Nuggets came away with Cleveland’s unprotected 2031 first-round pick and a 2023 Sacramento Kings second-round pick. Watson landed with the Cavs and signed his extension.
Later, Charania added that part of the deal also sees Cleveland sending Tre Mann and cash to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Cam Whitmore. The Wizards are also trading Julian Reese to the Nuggets, who are expected to waive him.
With the Watson now onboard, the Cavaliers are expected to re-sign James Harden and complete a roster that should contend in the Eastern Conference. The Nuggets could try to pursue veteran guard DeMar DeRozan to fill Watson’s absence, NBA TV’s Chris Haynes reported.
The Nuggets tendered a $6.5 million qualifying offer to Watson earlier this offseason, making him a restricted free agent. Denver could have matched any offer from any other team.
Watson averaged career highs of 14.6 points (on 49/41/73 shooting splits), 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 29.6 minutes per game over 54 appearances for the Denver Nuggets this past season, helping the NBA’s 2023 champions to another No. 3 playoff seed out West.
Watson, however, strained his right hamstring in February, reaggravated the injury after a brief return in late March and missed the remainder of the season, including Denver’s disappointing six-game loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs’ first round.
Still, he showed enough during a stretch when the Nuggets needed him — when Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokić both went down with injury — to earn a spot among the most coveted free agents this summer. He is, after all, a 23-year-old, 6-foot-8 athletic marvel, who blocks a shot per game and was enjoying a breakout season before his own injury.
Denver’s most-used lineup featuring Watson — also boasting Jokić, Jamal Murray, Cam Johnson and fellow restricted free agent Spencer Jones — outscored opponents by 20.1 points per 100 possessions across 171 minutes over 13 games. All lineups with Watson, Jokic and Murray in them outscored opponents by 13.3 points per 100 meaningful possessions (across more than 1,300 possessions), according to Cleaning the Glass.
Point is: Watson was invaluable to the Nuggets, whose long-term commitment to fellow homegrown wing prospect Christian Braun for five years and $125 million — a contract that kicks in this coming season — made it difficult to retain Watson. Unless they spent.
Read the full article here